HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from UFC 239

Frank Hyden MMATorch Columnist

UFC 239 was this past weekend and it was a stacked card. Let’s get right to the rundown.

UFC 239

GOOD- Michael Chiesa vs. Diego Sanchez

Chiesa landed several takedowns in this fight and did just about what he wanted. Sanchez fought back some but not much so Chiesa won the decision. I don’t want to say that Sanchez should retire but he’s well past being relevant in the division. I’m guessing he’ll keep going, though. As for Chiesa, this is a good win for him. He looked good in this fight.

GOOD- Jan Blachowicz stops Luke Rockhold

Blachowicz connected with some big strikes during this fight and Rockhold just couldn’t get out of the starting blocks. The power of Blochowicz made all the difference. Rockhold couldn’t land the takedown and didn’t really have much success on the feet either. Blochowicz hurt him badly in the first round but Rockhold was able to survive until the second round. Blochowicz ended the fight with a huge left hook just over a minute and a half into the second round. Good win for Blachowicz.

GOOD- Jorge Masvidal stops Ben Askren

This was wild. Masvidal sprints across the cage right as the bell rings, but Askren shoots for a takedown anyway. That was when Masvidal did what you’ve always dreamed of and jumped up for a flying knee and smashed Askren into next week. The whole fight ended in five seconds, a UFC record. Great highlight reel win for Masvidal that likely pushes him into the title picture. As for Askren, this is a tough loss. He can bounce back with a few wins but no question this sets him back a good deal. Big win for Masvidal.

GOOD- Amanda Nunes stops Holly Holm

Nunes went after Holm with pinpoint striking. Holm was able to avoid a fair amount of damage but eventually it caught up to her as Nunes connected with a head kick that dropped Holm, then followed up with punches to force the stoppage. Nunes successfully defended her bantamweight championship and picked up her ninth straight win.

Nunes is incredible and it’s hard to imagine her losing anytime soon. Of course, anyone can lose at anytime but she’s been looking so good lately that it’s just hard to picture it. Big win for Nunes.

GOOD- Jon Jones vs. Thiago Santos

Santos hurt his leg fairly early on but Jones didn’t do much to capitalize on it. I like the aggressiveness Santos showed, though I also think Jones looked odd here. He didn’t seem like his usual self. I suppose the two could be related but even in the first round Jones seemed off.

One of the judges gave Santos the edge on the scorecards while the other two leaned towards Jones, giving Jones the split decision as he successfully defended his light heavyweight championship again.

This was just a weird fight. Kudos to Jones to winning and to Santos for doing well in the fight, but I couldn’t help but be disappointed some in this fight.

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